I had never seen this thread until today, and once I started reading I couldn't stop. I read all 24 pages!
If you add up all of the injuries, physical and structural damage; I'd say there's enough to kill about 20 people and demolish a few city blocks.
It sure makes me feel better about some of the bone headed things I've done. It's good to know I'm not the only one who occasionally suffers from cranio-rectal inversion.
I won't tell any stories on myself. They've all been told under other names in this thread. There is one really dumb move involving a coworker that still has me scratching my head, though. We'll call him John.
We had a new Buick Park Ave. in the shop that was overheating at idle. (Early 90s car, the hood tilted foreward). John wanted to verify that the cooling fan was coming on, so he started the engine and held the idle speed up to bring up the temperature. The fan came on and we both realized that it wasn't flowing much air. I walked around front and the air was pushing out the front of the car. I walked back to the side and said, "John, I think the fan is running backwards".
John says" Yea, I think so too" and immediately jams his hand right into the electric cooling fan!!
All fingers were still attached, just a bunch of cuts and bruised fingers and a very bruised ego. He never could say exactly why he did that or what he was thinking.
BTW, the fan connector was pinned backward.
Be safe out there, fellas.
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Oh, you drive a Hummer? Isn't that just a cute little thing!! My ride is an EMD E-8A. Wanna play chicken! www.lakeshorerailway.org
Reminds me of when my dad and I put a new attic ventilation fan in his house.I was maybe 20 years old and knew how to wire, so we cut the hole, mounted the fan, trimmed out the hole and hooked it up.
Threw the switch and the fan came on, no problem. But it didn't appear as if the louvres on the exterior of the fan were opening as far as they should under the air pressure of the fan.
My dad just reached right into the fan to try to push the louvres (on the outside of the blade) open!!
He needed about 10 stitches on two fingers, but fortunately they neithr broke nor became unattached from his hand.
It is only on very rare occasions that I remind him of the incident. It usually immediately stems any criticism he is contemplating about something I have done.
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Kal
97 250 PSD Ex Cab Sd 4X4 ZF5 155k
Buncha low budget mods
"I tried being reasonable. I didn't like it."
Almost embarrassed to type this but maybe someone will learn from it, I know I did...
So I needed to change out the carrier bearing in my truck. Pulled it halfway into the garage (wouldn't fit all the way). I imagine the majority of you can see where this is going at this point just based on the first sentence. For those not in the know, read on. So I pulled the truck up, threw it in park, set the e-brake and proceeded to get the tools out. I got under the truck and started pullin' the driveshaft bolts out. I got 'em all the front bolts out and couldn't figure out why the driveshaft wasn't dropping down. So I grabbed a mallot and started bangin' away. I drop the front and low and behold, the e-brake isn't hangin' on. The driveshaft hits the driveway and the truck starts rolling backwards. At this point, there's no stopping it, the back half of the truck was on a decline so I rolled out from under the truck right before the front tire (nice new 37" tires) passed me by. I jumped up, grabbed the bumper and slid with the truck all the way down the driveway hoping to help slow it down before it my neighbors 'vette that was in the street. The truck hits the street and there was enough of an elevation change between the driveway and the street that the momentum was killed and the truck stopped in the street. I pulled out the rest of the rear driveshaft, threw it in 4h and drove it back up the driveway. I was so mad at myself for not chocking the wheels that I couldn't believe what just happened. I couldn't imagine what would've happened had my truck not have been lifted...
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2000 F250 V10, sc, lb, 6.5in Pro Comp lift, Bilstein 5100's, 37in Toyo M/T's, 17in MT Classic II's, K&N FIPK, 3.5in B&B exhaust, Randy Ellis light bar, 4 - 8in KC 800 Series lights
Exhibit A- The year I was building the engine for my Thunderbird, I was trying to get it done in time to take it out to St. Louis, MO for the world for challenge but didn't quite get it done in time, so I decided to take my beater Tempo out there. I was doing the usual long trip prep on it a few days before and decided to change out the serpentine belt.
I grabbed a 1/2" drive ratchet with a 24" handle, put it on the bolt that I thought was the hex head for the tensioner, and twisted the bolt right off. I dunno what happened but I had put the socket on the mounting bolt for the tensioner- apparently on that car, it has a square recess that you just stick a socket extension into. So, I had to dig through all my old discarded mounting bolts from my other vehicles (I knew I kept those for a reason) and found one that'd work. Whew.
Exhibit B- On my old 2.3L Mustang, I had isntalled a longtube header which required an extended O2 sensor plug. While installing the header, I somehow managed to twist the wires off the original O2 sensor that I had lengthened, so I bought another one. This was just a two wire sensor, so I cut the wires, stripped the ends, soldered them together, and then bundled the wires together and wrapped electrical tape around them. Started the car and noticed smoke coming off the O2 wire...wonder why? Then suddenly I realized the problem and shut the car off. Yep...I had bundled the stripped ends of the wires against each other and then wrapped tape around them, so they were touching inside the tape. that was stupid.
__________________ 1994 F250 XLT-Reg cab, 4x4, 5 speed, 7.3 IDI Turbo, manual hubs. 4" intake tube, ATS upgrade, 4" exhaust w/ Walker 21172, boost & pyro on pillar, Autodim mirror, 16x8 MB Razor wheels w/285/75R16 "MT-R's" 1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe-Lots of fun stuff to make it go fast & take corners 2008 V-Star 1100 Midnight Custom-Just Cobra slip-on drag pipes for now
I can laugh about this now because no one got hurt and nothing got damaged. But anyway, was working on my brothers truck , putting valve cover gaskets on. I sprayed them off over the garbage can with brake cleaner, installed new gaskets, and put the valve covers back on. Then I proceded to tune it up with plugs/wires/cap/rotor. After he was about to leave, we metioned to me that his exhaust was loose. I took a look underneath, and sure enough, broken hanger. So I grabbed the piece of 1/2 rod that I had, and looked for a good place to cut it off at. I then decided to lay it across the garbage can (long rod) so that about 3-4 feet was hangin off of it. I only needed about a 4" chunk. So I fire up the torch, get about half way through cutting in and then BANG!!!!!!!!!! The garbage can erupted into a 6 foot tall flaming inferno. I had forgotten about the brake cleaner that I had sprayed almost an hour earlier. The can was full of fumes, and it exploded with fire. Burnt all the hair off my right arm, and singed the hair on the right half of my head.
Thankfully I was smart enough to have installed multiple fire extinguishers throughout the building, and the fire was out just as fast as it has started.
BUT A WARING TO ALL, EVEN IF IT IS LATE AT NIGHT, AND YOU ARE TIRED AND YOUR BRAIN IS NOT FUNCTIONING AS IT SHOULD BE, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!!!!!!!! THINK!!!!!!!!!! INSTALL MULTIPLE FIRE EXTINGUSIHERS!!!!!!!!!!! SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On another note, before I had a place to do my work, I would just do it in the parking lot of the apt complex I lived in. Well, my 88 F150 needed some new ebrake cables (they were sticking). So I went to put them on. I jacked up the left rear of the truck with a little bottle jack, took off the tire, and started looking at the brake drum. It was tight because of the sticking cable, so I started messing with it trying to free up the cable. I grabbed it and bent the cable, and bang!, the cable went loose, well, as it loosened up, it allowed the differential to differentiate, and the truck rolled forward right off of the jack stand. Was a little embarassing as I jumped back, but no one got hurt!
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88 4x4 300 six, 5spd. granny 1st, reg cab 3.55
85 4x4 5.0L F-One Fiddy Reg Cab 3.55 With a Flatbed
^Now that its 21 years old, it can smoke and drink!^
Forgot about one...didn't quite do it in my garage but close enough (driveway!)
Again on my old 2.3L Mustang- stock cooling fan had bit the dust so I was attempting to rig up the electric fan out of my brother's escort.
I was trying to make brackets to hold the fan on, I had made one and was working on the other. I needed a hole in the shroud in a certain place for a bolt so I got the drill and put a bit in it.
Now, I know before I even switched the drill on, something in the back of my head told me it was a bad idea but I did it anyway. Drilled through the shroud, and of course when it broke through, I had been putting just enough pressure on it to push the drill bit right into the radiator and punch a nice hole in it.
__________________ 1994 F250 XLT-Reg cab, 4x4, 5 speed, 7.3 IDI Turbo, manual hubs. 4" intake tube, ATS upgrade, 4" exhaust w/ Walker 21172, boost & pyro on pillar, Autodim mirror, 16x8 MB Razor wheels w/285/75R16 "MT-R's" 1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe-Lots of fun stuff to make it go fast & take corners 2008 V-Star 1100 Midnight Custom-Just Cobra slip-on drag pipes for now
As a young kid I worked for my brothers trucking company. Lets just say this wasn't the cleanest shop in the world. Someone was using a cutting torch and must have resently cut a large nut off a dump truck. The nut must have just lost that cherry color as I came walking thru the shop and stepped on it. It stuck to my shoe and I got about two steps before it hit me. I couldn't get that shoe off fast enough!!!
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1979 F-350 Ranger XLT Super Cab 4x4 4" Skyjacker lift 35" Mud Kings. With the Premium Rust Package
In high school I had an extra credit project for chemistry class. The assignment was to estimate the weight of a vehicle by measuring the tire pressure and also measuring the area of the contact patch of the tires. So I jacked up the rear bumper of my truck with a hi lift jack so I could get a print of my tires on paper. Well as soon as i got it in the air it rolled forward and the jack put a bullet hole in my tailgate. So now I always chock the tires.
Working under my truck only to have an acetylene tank fall on me, causing me to spray carb cleaner over my entire face, then running like a little girl to my garage blind only to find out i left the garage door halfway down.
__________________ It's an internet forum, get used to it. It's like having a drunk conversation with every single person in the bar minus the "I love you man". "I've seen far more abnormal and unexplainable things at Wal-Mart than I have out in the deep woods." "My drinking crew has a racing problem, or vice versa..."
Working under my truck only to have an acetylene tank fall on me, causing me to spray carb cleaner over my entire face, then running like a little girl to my garage blind only to find out i left the garage door halfway down.
DUDE!!! Are we related?? Seriously!
THAT is the kind of stupid "Murphys Law" situations that I've dealt with in my life over and over again, regardless of safety precautions, condom use, speedometer calibration, or prenuptial agreements!
For those unfamiliar with Murphys Law, it's: "Anything that CAN go wrong...WILL go wrong...at the worst possible moment".
I don't generally have minor mishaps, I'm a safety Nazi. Sometimes, though, a simple thing can inadvertently lead to major injury or destruction.
I truly believe that the famed "Murphy" and I are twins that were separated at birth.
Maybe we were Triplets...Brother?
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Oh, you drive a Hummer? Isn't that just a cute little thing!! My ride is an EMD E-8A. Wanna play chicken! www.lakeshorerailway.org
DUDE!!! Are we related?? Seriously!
THAT is the kind of stupid "Murphys Law" situations that I've dealt with in my life over and over again, regardless of safety precautions, condom use, speedometer calibration, or prenuptial agreements!
For those unfamiliar with Murphys Law, it's: "Anything that CAN go wrong...WILL go wrong...at the worst possible moment".
I don't generally have minor mishaps, I'm a safety Nazi. Sometimes, though, a simple thing can inadvertently lead to major injury or destruction.
I truly believe that the famed "Murphy" and I are twins that were separated at birth.
Maybe we were Triplets...Brother?
Haha, possibly
__________________ It's an internet forum, get used to it. It's like having a drunk conversation with every single person in the bar minus the "I love you man". "I've seen far more abnormal and unexplainable things at Wal-Mart than I have out in the deep woods." "My drinking crew has a racing problem, or vice versa..."
I actually didn't do this myself but i was involved and didn't try to stop it. Not so long ago i was going to replace the sway bar bushings under the front of my truck, but hadn't ever done it before so i had a friend come over to the house. He takes both sway bar hangers and comes out from under the truck. We start trying to take the old ones out, after 241,000 miles these bad boys are in here pretty good. So he asks do you have a pan i say sure and i go grab a plastic oil pan and bring it back, he looks at me and says what about some gas in a jug. I said ok and bring him my gas jug he pours the gas in the pan.
He asks for a lighter so i hand him a lighter he lays the hanger on the ground so i assumed well that is alot better idea. he pours some gas on the hanger and then uses the lighter and sets the hanger and bushing on fire, well the fire didn't last long so he picks up the pan and quickly pours a lil more on the fire and POOF he is holding a FLAMING plastic oil pan. The look on his face was priceless we quickly tried to put the small forrest fire we have created in my drive way while laughing histeraccly. Don't misunderstand this story, the creator of this mishap is extremely intelligent it was just a hillarious absent minded moment!
At the risk of appearing a dumbazz, but in the interest of saving someone else the same fate, here is my story (happened last summer). In hindsight, this did occur at someone else's garage, so I did have enough sense not to pull this off in my own shop
For those who haven't read about my stay at the Burn Unit of Washington Hospital Center, (and the Medivac ride to get there) here is how not to cut the top off an oil drum.
My mother was in need of a new burn barrel, so I had asked a local school bus fleet owner if he had any spares. With all the oil changes he does, he buys all of it by the drum. He was fresh out of empty barrels, but had another source. The next day, when he did drop off what looked like a brand new oil drum, I mentioned I'd have to get out the hammer and chisel. (someone once told me your first answer is normally the right one) He said he uses a cutting torch on his, and left shortly afterward. Now I'm normally one of the stickler's for safety, but I guess when he mentioned cutting torch, it clouded my better judgement just because I was trying to get done in a hurry. My next thought was to go ahead and use the plasma cutter and get it done much quicker, what with all the work I have backlogged. I loaded up the barrel in my truck and drove down to a friends house to use my plasma cutter. (he had borrowed it to make a rock crawler out of a Suzuki Samauri) We got everything situated, I positioned the torch, and as soon as the torch lit, it was done. I have never seen motor oil act in this manner, and I guarantee it's a lesson I will never forget. I had the two bungs removed, and the larger of the two was right in front of me. The arc from the torch caused the barrel residue to expand the ends of the barrel outward, sending it skyward about two feet off the gound. The flash exiting the bung holes (can I say that?) burned through a t shirt, an undershirt, and various other body parts that happened to be there in the way as it propelled upwards. When the barrel landed, the fire in the barrel was out, but it was still emitting black smoke. My buddy was standing there in disbelief, looked at me and said, "That's gonna look goofy for awhile". This prompted me to look in the side view mirror of my truck to assess the damage. Meanwhile, he got me a clean shirt to put on to keep the burned area clean. Unsure of the extent of the burns (ie: still dazed and confused) I drove home (about 3 miles), and asked my wife to look at it (she and I both have had EMT training). After some stuttering and stammering on her part, I told her to call the ambulance. Here is the drum in it's expanded capacity form, and also the extent of how much cutting got done:
Regardless of a barrel's contents, especially one you receive second hand, don't trust anyone's word on it's residue (or supposed lack thereof), treat it as a worst case scenario and wash it out, purge the vapors, etc, and then fill with water before cutting. Best idea yet is to find a barrel with the ring-clamped removable top. Lest you wind up looking like this (or worse)
As much as I'd hate to see this happen to anyone, (and since I'm still here to talk about it), I wanted to share this story. The least I could do after all I've been through was to make this post in hopes of saving someone else the same or a worse fate. One of my saving graces (including the Good Lord not being ready for me yet) was that I was wearing safety glasses and leather gloves, so no finger burns and only singed eyebrows. I spent four days in the burn unit and another three weeks to heal up enough to return to work in the shop. Please be careful out there and don't let a time constraint interfere with your better judgement. I have had a few requests from various people to use this story as a safety awareness lesson for their workplace. Please feel free to share as you see fit or to link this thread to other forums in order to share this lesson with others. If it saves one person from making the same mistake, it has served its purpose.
I had a fairly new metal lathe and had just bought a set of new carbide cutters that I was trying out. Found a piece of what I thought was aluminum. Found the faster I turned it, the nicer it cut. Kicked the lathe up to about 8,000 rpm and found out what I was turning was actually magnesium. Fortunately I had just cleaned the chips out of the ways when it caught fire. Just scorched the paint and cement floor a bit. Found out CO2 only makes it burn hotter. Nothing will get you moving like a mag fire! lol
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that was stupid.
